Surface ornamentation



Feb. 12, 1935. v s; .1. HEINRICH l,990,732

SURFACE ORNAMENTATION Filed Aug. 13, 1929 m V/J M I l 32' Hy. 3. q z

i y? .HW MMI# Patented Feb. 12, Y193e UNITED STATES? PATENT OFFICE V,stimmen ORNAMENTATION Stephen'J. Heinrich, Newtnn'Highlands,` Mass. Applieaon Augier v13, 1929; serial No. 385,566 V2 claims: (c1. 41-21) This invention relates to the ornamentation of lacquered surfaces and particularly to theV striping of surfaces coveredwith a lacquer con-` sisting essentially of a cellulose ester, as'the lac-v f quer known in the trade as duco that the desired'sharp 'line of the stripe is de- It is common to painta distinctively-'colored narrow band or ribbon on the lacquered surface of an automobile, an article rof* furniture, and

y stroyed. Consequently, the striping material is usually an ordinary paint or'a resin lacquer consisting of a relatively large amount of pigmerit and-a small amount of binder. I-'hestripe has'not provensatisfactory, however. as it is not asdurable as the surface lacquer Vand soon wears off, due to .washingfpolishing and other Vabrading forces.

,It is an objectV of the present invention to provide a (striping material which is adapted to be applied -to a lacquer surface, and especially a surface covered withV a. cellulose lacquer, and Whichis muchV more durable than anystriping material `heretofore employed Vand has such characteristics that it adheres strongly to the lacquered surface anddoes not'run thereon.

Striping isan art that vrequires, considerable skill which is attained lonly by long practice and, consequently, is expensive. i

It isa further objectof the invention torprovide a method of and materials for striping, such that the striping can be appliedhquickly and satisfactorily by one who has had little previous experience in striping. Y

It is another object ,ofV the invention torpro-` vide a method of and material for striping by which ornamental designs that heretofore have been beyond the skill of the usual striper or have been prohibitive by reason vof expense can be cheaply and easily applied to a surface.

In carrying out the invention, I provide a striping material which instead of being a liquid paint or lacquer as heretofore, is inthe form of a longA and thin solid ribbon or web; and such ribbon or web constitutes the stripe. The ribbon is of: suitable thickness and width and of the desirednconlguration. It may, for instance, be narrow and have parallel side edges `ifl the stripe is to -be `a Vlhair-'line stripe or it may` be" a broader ribbon, orl have serrated or scalloped edges, j or .be otherwise formed. It can also be composed of Avarious colors. Such a striping material constitutes a'further object of the invention. v

The striping ,ribbon is capable ofl being sofl5,

a hair-line striping, ribbon embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 4is an enlarged cross section taken alongH line 2-2Uovf Fig. 1. l 15 Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig. 2 but illuS l trating a modified `construction of the ribbon.

Fig. 4 is a cross section'illustrating the strping, ribbon adherently united to va lacquered surface.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of a drum by .means of which the ribbon of Figs land 2 Vis made..

,Fig. 6 is anenlarged sectional view of the periphery of the drum of Fig. 5,y taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 5. y f

Fig. *'7A is a 'view similar torFig. 6, withY the striping material applied thereto. .Y

Fig. 8 is a View similar to Fig. '7 but with the ribbon in readiness to be removed from the drum. f v

` Fig. 9 is a View similar to Fig. 6 but illus-Y tratingV a lmodified ,manner of forming the stripes. Y

Figs. lll-and l1 are plan views of striping ribbons of diiferent types, all embodying the 35v present i invention. l

In accordance with the present invention, the stripe,Y or the ribbon which composes the stripe, preferably is formed or cut from a largeV sheet of striping material and Figures `5 through 8 40 illustrate various steps linA the manufacture of the stripe.V

The ribbon consists of a pigment and a binder Y therefor. The pigment can beany thing desired.` It can be ground injapan or other vehicle. It 45 can be any suitable color. v,Adye can be used in'- stead of a pigment. The binder ispreferably of a colloidal nature andis capable of being soluble or sqftenable in a suitable solventlor softening agent. Preferably the binder is a cellulose ester. 50 as a cellulose nitrate or acetate and may or may not be associated with a metallic salt. Pref#- erably it is the same material as thatwhich'composes the coating to which the'istriping ribbon isrto be applied. If the coating is .ducov the l55 als binder ordinarily will consist of cellulose nitrate or acetate. The stripping material initially is in liquid form which is applied, preferably as a spray, to and hardens in sheet form on a surface from which the striping ribbon is subsequently removed. The liquid consists of the binder and its solvent and the pigment or dye. If the binder is cellulose nitrate, for instance, the solution can be made up of six ounces of nitro-cellulose to one gallon of a volatile solvent, as acetone. The proportions of pigment to the solution will vary with the color of the pigment. I find that two per cent by volume of black pigment and ten per cent of white pigment gives `good results. Obviously, there is no critical proportion and the amount used Will depend upon the color and the requirements. The above-proportions of binder to solvent give good results but can be varied, also. If desired, a metallic salt can be added to the cellulose solvent, as is now well known, to increase the percentage of binder capable of being contained in the solvent without causing the solution to be unworkably viscous. vThe liquid may be replaced by a dye as is now common in the art of making cellulose lacquers. If desired, although not essential, a suitable filler may be added to the solution when a dye is used. A plasticizing agent, as glycerin, or castor oil or the like, can be added to the solution so that the resultant stripingr ribbon will be flexible and not so brittle as to break under the ordinary handling it receives in manufacture and in applying it to the surface.

The ribbon-forming material has such characteristics that the ribbon made therefrom is rapidly softened 01 made plastic by the application of a solvent and is then capable of adherently uniting permanently with the surface to which it is applied. Preferably, the solvent is also a solvent for the surface coating so that the coating under the ribbon is also softened and rendered adhesive, so that both are firmly bonded together when the solvent has evaporated, and the ribbon has hardened.

The liquid striping material is formed into solid sheets preferably by spraying the material onto a suitable surface and allowing the coating to harden and form a solid sheet or film of suitable thickness thereon. Striping ribbons of suitable dimensions and configuration are subsequently cut or formed from such sheets.

Preferably the liquid material is sprayed onto the surface of a cylindrical metal drum to form a film from which the ribbon is subsequently made.

Figs. and 6 illustrate a suitable drum 16 which has a spiral groove 18 cut in its periphery to form a number of contiguous convolutions. The groove preferably is circular in cross section as illustrated in Fig. 6, and the convolutions are separated by a sharp spiral ridge 22. The striping material is sprayed uniformly upon the periphery of the drum and in the convolutions of the groove and upon the sharp ridge to form a solid film 24 having a suitable thickness, as two or three thousandths of an inch, as in Fig. '7. The depth of the groove preferably is greater than the thickness of the iilm. The material overlying the ridge is then removed eitherl by a suitable cutting or abrading device or by the application of a solvent for the material, thereby to expose the ridge 24 and thus separate the material in the consecutive convolutions, thereby to form a long ribbon 26 which occupies the groove and the convolutions of which are separate. The

ribbon is then unwound or stripped from the drum and is wound into a roll or otherwise packaged so that it can be applied in a convenient manner to lacquered surfaces. As thus made, the striping ribbon 26 is formed with a convex outer surface 28, see Fig. 2, and a concave inner surface 30. The opposed bottom edges 32 are fiat and the side edges 34 are acute with respect to the bottom faces 32 so that when the ribbon is applied to the lacquered surface, it will adhere firmly thereto without presenting abrupt surfaces that might be torn off.

In applying the ribbon to the lacquered surface, one end of a suitably long length of the ribbon is treated with a solvent for the binder in any suitable manner as by brushing a little of the solvent upon the bottom face of the ribbon. The solvent immediately softens the binder and renders it adhesive. The softened end of the ribbon is pressed onto the lacquered surface into the desired position and held there for a short time or until the moistened end of the ribbon adheres to the surface. A suitable length of the ribbon is then extended upon the surface in the desired location and while held in position while a solvent is applied thereto, preferably upon its top face by a brush or atomizer. The solvent immediately penetrates the ribbon and softens the binder which unites with theflacquered surface and hardens thereon and becomes an intimate and integral part thereof, so that it is permanently attached to the surface. The softened ribbon becomes plastic so that it in effect beds down upon and, to some extent, into the lacquered surface so that it unites permanently therewith, yet without running or spreading on the surface.

Fig. 4 illustrates in cross section the disposition of the ribbon after it has been applied to the lacquered surface a. The concave portion 30 of the ribbon usually disappears and the side edges of the ribbon sink into the lacquered surface so that the edges of the ribbon merge smoothly and in a well defined line with the surface without presenting sharp exposed edges that can be raised and torn away.

The ribbon is, or can be, as thick or thicker than the surface of the lacquer to which it is applied so that it will wear equally well with the lacquer and can withstand any usual wear thereon without disintegrating.

While it is not absolutely essential, it is highly desirable to provide the ribbon with the bevelled or acute edges 34 so that the striping ribbon when united with the lacquered surface, will not present any sharp or projecting parts. Instead of constructing the ribbon as above described, it can be made by applying a coat of striping material onto the smooth and ungrooved periphery of a drum 16a, see Fig. 9, to form a smooth uniform sheet or lm 28a thereon. Ribbons 28h of suitable width can be cut from said sheet by a cutting tool 36 having a V-shaped cutting edge which is fed in a uniform manner, similar to cutting a screw-thread, from one end to the other of the cylinder and cut through the sheet down to the periphery of the cylinder, thereby separating the sheet into the aforesaid ribbon. By the use of the V-shaped cutting tool, the ribbon is provided with bevelled side edges 38, the effect and advantages of which are the same as that resulting from the convex configuration of the ribbon 26. Y

'I'he striping ribbon can have any suitable width. It can be made much narrower than any stripe which can be applied commercially with a brush. Striping ribbons onlyvseven or eight thousandths of an inch have been made and ap plied successfully to lacquered surfaces in th manner above described. Even narrower striping ribbons can be used, if desired. The diffi- .culty of applying such narrow stripes by a brush Vknurling Wheel to the sheet 28a on the drum 16a..

Striping a surface by the striping ribbon herein described can be accomplished by a relatively inexperienced person since the ribbon can be extended upon the surface and moved.V about until the desired position is obtained and then held in such position while the solvent iszapplied and until the softened ribbon is adherently united with the surface. The ribbon is of fixed and unchanging width so that the skill heretofore involved in the manipulation of the striping brush is not necessary.

Ornamental stripes such as `shown in Figs. 10 and 11 can be applied to the surface as readily asthe plain ribbon of Fig. l, thus to impart to the surface an ornamental appearance that can not be attained by the use of a brush except at a prohibitive expense. Stripes of various com binations of colors can also be readily applied which would not be commercially practicable by heretofore known methods.

I claim:

1. striping material consisting of a soluble ribbon having a convex upper face and a bottom face which is at at least in part.

2. striping material consisting of a soluble ribbon having a convex upper face and a bottom face that is fiat at the side edges and is concave in the middle.

STEPHEN J. HEINRICH. 

